Recovering from anorexia is a long, challenging process. While it is normal (and okay!) for your motivation level to ebb and flow, it is vital to your recovery success that you work to keep your motivation as high as you can, more often than not.

If you are at the beginning of your recovery journey, you may have very little motivation right now. Anorexia is especially unique, when it comes to mental/physical illnesses, in that when we are stuck in it we don’t generally want to get better! (There are a variety of reasons for this, and this contributes to the danger/lethality of anorexia).

However, given that you are reading this blog post, I’m guessing that at least a small part of you does want to get better. Great – let’s start there! We can work with any ambivalence and hesitation you are feeling over time, no matter how strong. This is also normal.

On the other hand, if you are already full-force into your recovery journey, then hopefully the ideas in this post help you to keep building on and maintaining your motivation.

Ways to increase motivation in anorexia recovery: 

Make a list of your reasons for recovery.

What are the reasons why YOU want to recover? Even if you are feeling ambivalent (which again, is normal), if you are reading this, then you probably have access to at least a small part of you that wants to recover. This part of you can and will get bigger over time as we nourish it.

Maybe, right now, it feels like the only reason you can think of is so that your parents stop pestering you about your weight or food issues! Use that reason to start your list!!

Might there be other reasons you can connect with? Possible reasons to recover are endless and unique to you, but some might include:

• Being physically healthy –> anorexia drastically impacts one’s physical health, and can even lead to death
• Being able to potentially have kids one day
• Being able to spend time with and be there for friends, family, spouse, boyfriend, etc.
• Not being cold, dizzy, or tired all the time
• Being able to participate in high school sports or other extracurriculars
• Being able to get back to regular exercise you enjoy
• Being more present and able to pursue your dreams/goals/values (career, travel, family, etc.)

I’d encourage you to write out your specific reasons, and keep them somewhere highly visible! Maybe you have your list on your bedroom wall, on your bathroom mirror, in your kitchen, or on a note on your phone or a sheet of paper that you can read each morning. Review your list often, and add to it as time goes on! 

Journal out what your life might be like post-eating disorder.

This idea is similar to the one above, but here I’d encourage you to really visualize and write out more specifically what your LIFE might be like if you were to fully recover.

How might you feel physically, mentally emotionally?

What kind of career might you be able to pursue? What kinds of activities might fill your days?

What would it be like to be free from all-consuming thoughts about food, exercise, or your body?

Who might you know (whether personally or not) who lives a life that inspires you?

How might your life be drastically different in 1, 5, 10, 20+ years if you continue putting one foot in front of the other with your recovery? 

Journal out what your life might be like if you don’t continue in recovery.

While recovery is winding road with many ups and downs, choosing recovery or not is also like a fork in the road. Our actions over time will lead us closer to being fully recovered OR stuck in the eating disorder.

Behaviors like restricting food intake or obsessively exercising can feel helpful in the short-term. It will likely feel anxiety-inducing to move away from these behaviors.

I’d encourage you to ZOOM OUT and try to think long-term… what will your life be like 1, 5, 10, 20+ years from now if you don’t keep pressing ahead in recovery? 

Consider seriously the physical, mental, emotional, and relational ramifications of this. We each only get one life to live!! 

Use affirmations and encouragements in some way.

Affirmations and encouragements could look like ANYTHING that works for you! Consider graphics (like the one below) that you could keep in an album on your phone, a vision board that you keep in your bedroom, encouraging phrases written on note cards or sticky notes, personal artwork, or whatever else you might come up with.

Again, the idea is to keep these affirmations in a highly visible place, or to make it part of your routine to review them often (at the start of each day can be helpful). Think sticky notes on your bathroom mirror, an inspirational poster of encouraging phrases and photos in your bedroom, and “healthy self” affirmations/reminders at the dinner table.

The point of the affirmations is to help you connect with your REASONS WHY on a regular basis.

Interview someone who has recovered.

Recovery can feel impossible at times. (Key word –> FEEL. It is FULLY POSSIBLE for each person, including YOU!)

It can be immensely helpful and encouraging to find and interview someone who has made a full recovery, and is now years (or decades) into living their full, post-recovery life. This can provide inspiration that you can do it, too! It is also healing to connect with someone who can relate to what you are going through, the struggles you are experiencing, and can provide insight into how they navigated similar challenges.

If you personally don’t know of someone who has recovered, reading memoirs or personal stories on blogs, as well as listening to podcasts interviews, are other helpful ways to be encouraged.

Dive into recovery-related works, workbooks, podcasts, and blogs.

In addition to meeting regularly with an eating disorder dietitian, therapist, and doctor as part of your recovery team, it can be extremely helpful to utilize a variety of recovery-related resources throughout the week.

This can help with reinforcing certain concepts and keeping motivation higher outside of sessions.

Some of my favorite anorexia recovery-related resources include:

• 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder Book and Workbook
• Decoding Anorexia
• The Woman in The Mirror
• Recovery Warriors podcast

Identify your barriers to believing you can and will make a full recovery.

How would you answer the following question?

I believe I have a _____% chance of making a full recovery.

If you answered less than 100%, what are the reasons why?

Maybe you feel like it isn’t possible for you because…

• You already tried recovery before
• You don’t feel like you have the motivation or “what it will take”
• You don’t think you can ever be comfortable in your “recovery body”
• You don’t have the money or time recovery might take
• You are disgusted by food and/or your body and don’t think that will ever change
• You feel like you need your eating disorder to feel and be okay

Whatever your barriers might be, I’d recommend writing them down and processing them through with a trusted friend or family member. If we were chatting, I’d want to help you see that there are NO barriers that can’t be worked through or overcome when it comes to you making a full recovery! 

Where there is a WILL, there is a WAY!

Focus on one day (and one meal, one snack) at a time. 

Finally, focus on ONE snack, ONE meal, and ONE day at a time.

How does one eat an elephant?? One bite at a time! The same thing is true for recovery.

The more you focus on the “all the work you have left to do,” and “how much more time all of this might take,” the more discouraged you are likely to be. When we are able to “micro-down” our mindset, by focusing on JUST TODAY, it is amazing the progress that will accumulate over time.

“Nelson Mandela said, ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ Eating disorder recovery is like that. Having patience was so important. I needed to have patience with the recovery process and with myself. There were days where everything was going great and things were looking up. Then other days I just wanted to give up and give in to the voice inside that said it would never get easier and I should stop trying. It is so important to not give in to that voice. If you have the patience and courage to hold on to the small healthy voice inside, the bigger that voice will get and the eating disorder voice will get smaller. One day when you look back, you will realize you won’t even hear the voice that tells you it is impossible. You will already have proved that it is.” 

// Client reflection from 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder Workbook 

Sending you LOVE and ENCOURAGEMENT if you are walking through your own anorexia recovery journey!